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Kodi Smit-McPhee lends his voice to the stop-motion animated "ParaNorman." --Courtesy Focus Features
For reviews of movies opening this weekend in theaters, see Friday’s Today/Features section.
OPENS FRIDAY, AUGUST 17
‘The Expendables 2′
“Back for war” is the movie’s apt tag line as the mercenaries reunite for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of the men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. (R, 102 minutes)
‘ParaNorman’
From the studio behind “Coraline,” it’s the story of a misunderstood boy who can speak with the dead; he takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse. (PG, 93 minutes)
‘Sparkle’
Set in the 1960s, three sisters form a girl group and soon become Motown sensations, but fame becomes a challenge as the close-knit family begins to fall apart. Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Derek Luke and Mike Epps star. (PG-13, 116 minutes)
LIMITED RELEASE
’2016: Obama’s America’
A strident documentary by the author of the book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” that builds on the assertion that the president’s deep-seated flaws would lead, if re-elected, to a second term that would be disastrous to the country. (PG, 87 minutes)
‘Nuit #1′
A bold and intimate French Canadian study of a one-night stand, where what looks like a typical hookup after a rave takes an unexpected turn as deep secrets are revealed during a long talk session. (NR, 91 minutes)
OPENS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22
‘Hit & Run’
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard star in a comedy about a couple that risks it all when they leave their small-town, witness-protection life and head toward Los Angeles, with a federal marshall and a gang of misfits in pursuit. (R, 100 minutes)
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Zach Galifianakis, left, and Will Ferrell swipe at politics in "The Campaign." --Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
NOW PLAYING
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Image may be NSFW.
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Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone star in the retelling of the origin of Marvel Comics’ famous and flawed superhero. About 10 years removed from the original movie trilogy, this “Spider-Man’ is its own distinct entity in terms of tone, characters, performances and visual effects, and mostly for the better. Andrew Garfield gives alter ego Peter Parker a slightly arrogant attitude, which give the whole movie a restless, reckless energy and a welcome sense of danger. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 136 minutes)
‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ Image may be NSFW.
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Faced with her father’s fading health and environmental changes that release an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs, a 6-year-old girl leaves her Louisiana delta community in search of her mother. The youngster Quvehzhane Wallis has a ferocity in her performance that belies her age, and the cinematography captures the humid and brackish scent of the delta. (Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle) (PG-13, 91 minutes)
‘The Bourne Legacy’ Image may be NSFW.
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Jeremy Renner stars in this expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum’s novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films. As a straight-up action flick, it does come up a bit short, but it feels like director Tony Gilroy (who also wrote the previous Matt Damon films) is doing something more cerebral here and potentially less crowd-pleasing. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 135 minutes)
‘The Campaign’ Image may be NSFW.
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In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust a long-term congressman by putting up a rival candidate in the form of a politically naive director of the local tourism center. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis star in this rude and crude farce that takes broad swipes at the political system and the people who manipulate it. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 85 minutes)
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Image may be NSFW.
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Eight years on, a new criminal overwhelms Gotham City’s finest, and Batman resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. In the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, the antecedent is the financial crisis, a much more muddled and less dramatic ongoing event, which makes for a movie that goes on and on. But the two things that keep the movie from being totally dismissed as overlong, overstuffed and tiresome are the director’s visual mastery and the development of the Catwoman character, as played by Anne Hathaway. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 164 minutes)
‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’ Image may be NSFW.
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In the sequel to the popular adaptation of the kids’ book series, school is out, and Greg and his friend Rowley get into some unexpected trouble. Fans of the previous movies will be thrilled to know that this is the best, funniest and least obnoxious of them all, done at a zippy pace and with an overall sunny disposition. (Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle) (PG, 94 minutes)
‘The Healing’
The consequences of a faith healer stopping her sessions for an eager public is the subject of this Filipino horror-suspense film. (NR, no running time available)
‘Hope Springs’ Image may be NSFW.
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After 30 years of marriage, a middle-age couple attends an intense, weeklong counseling session to work on their relationship. What looks like a standard romantic comedy turns into something akin to a contemporary Ingmar Bergman film, thanks to great performances by Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 99 minutes)
‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ Image may be NSFW.
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Manny, Diego and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world. The movie’s 3-D sight gags work, and the animation is better than ever. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG, 94 minutes)
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Travis Pastrana continues with the dangerous stunts and crude comedy in "Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D." --Courtesy Arc Entertainment
‘The Intouchables’ Image may be NSFW.
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After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young men from the projects to be his caretaker. The filmmakers infuse their comedy with a subversive, playful tone throughout, resulting in a sweet but not saccharine affair that has made this French movie an international hit. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 112 minutes)
‘Monsieur Lazhar’ Image may be NSFW.
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At a Montreal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed. Director Philippe Falardeau’s screenplay is elegantly written, and he directs his cast with a sure touch. (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) (PG-13, 94 minutes)
‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Image may be NSFW.
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Wes Anderson’s most grown-up film to date, it’s a warm and funny fable about kids on the cusp, as a pair of love-struck 12-year-olds run away together, causing a local search party to fan out and find them. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) (PG-13, 94 minutes)
‘Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D’
Travis Pastrana and his guys take on more dangerous action-sport stunts, piloting things like motorcycles, rally cars, parachutes, mountain bikes, monster trucks and more. (PG-13, 88 minutes)
‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’
A childless couple bury in their backyard a box containing all of their wishes for an offspring. Soon a boy emerges from the ground and accepts the couple as his parents, though the boy is not all that he appears. The movie tries for old-fashioned wholesomeness only to flounder amid this well-intended, pretty-looking but sappy tale. The characters are simplistic and artificial, behaving in ways that often are insultingly naive and sometimes just plain stupid. (David Germain, Associated Press) (PG, 100 minutes)
‘Ruby Sparks’ Image may be NSFW.
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A novelist struggling with writer’s block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence. The film requires a serious leap of faith from the audience, and for the most part it works with fits of brilliance and a final chapter that is sincerely awesome. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) (R, 104 minutes)
‘Step Up Revolution’ Image may be NSFW.
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The next installment in the smash dance movie franchise, set against the colorful backdrop of Miami. The kids are lithe, limber and can’t act worth a lick, but that isn’t the point, as the movie exists only to display hard bodies in tribal vibration in 3-D. The dancing, however, is occasionally spectacular. (Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times) (PG-13, 97 minutes)
‘Ted’ Image may be NSFW.
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The story of a man and his teddy bear, which comes to life as the result of a childhood wish. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane gives voice to the stuffed animal and confidently makes his feature directing debut, which feels like a live-action, big-screen version of his popular animated TV show, complete with pop-culture references, inappropriate racial humor, flashbacks and non sequiturs. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 106 minutes)
‘Total Recall’ Image may be NSFW.
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A factory worker begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led. This remake of the 1990 original surprisingly offers a fresh, visually rich take on the well-worn tale but unfortunately runs out of steam by the end, collapsing under the weight of too many explosions. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 118 minutes)
‘The Watch’ Image may be NSFW.
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Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade play suburban dads who form a neighborhood watch group as a way to get out of their daily family routines, only to find themselves defending Earth from an alien invasion. This is strictly a formulaic comedy that banks on its familiar stars and, when it runs out of gas, introduces some fake sentiment. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (R, 100 minutes)
ARTHOUSE
DORIS DUKE THEATRE
Honolulu Museum of Art, 900 S. Beretania St., entry on Kinau Street (532-8768; $10 general, $8 museum members (tickets also available online at www.honolulumuseum.org):
Ballet and Opera in Cinema: ‘Romeo & Juliet: From the Royal Opera House, London’
1 and 6 p.m. Sunday ($25, $20 museum members)
One of the company’s signature works since 1965. In this production, some of the original design details are restored as part of Nicholas Georgiadis’ earthy Renaissance look on stage. (97 minutes, including three featurettes)
‘Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday
A 1995 TV interview with Jobs, who at the time was running NeXT, the niche computer company he had founded after leaving Apple. He talks about his pioneering days with Steve Wozniak and offers his vision of what would become a digital future. (2011, 70 minutes)
MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave. (735-8771): $5 general, $4 members; reservations recommended:
‘I Vitelloni’
Noon, 1:45 and 3:30 p.m. today
The Federico Fellini comic masterpiece, set in a stylized version of his hometown of Rimini, follows the misadventures of a group of lazy young men who live at home. (1953, 105 minutes)
‘Mafioso’
5:15 and 7:15 p.m. today; noon, 2 and 6 p.m. Monday
An Italian black comedy about a factory manager who visits his hometown in Sicily and is tasked with performing a hit for the Mafia. (1962, 102 minutes)
‘The Hunger Games’
12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 6 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday
Based on the popular young-adult book series, a teenager in a post-apocalyptic society is selected to compete in a televised tournament in which young people fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses. (142 minutes)
‘Caterpillar’
Noon, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Set during the time of the second Sino-Japanese war, it’s a powerful indictment of Japan’s militaristic, nationalistic past as a woman is given the grueling task to care for her horribly mutilated husband back from the war. (2010, 85 minutes)
‘Armadillo’
Noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m. Thursday
A documentary that follows the lives of a group of Danish soldiers over a six-month period in an area close to Taliban positions in the south of Afghanistan. (2010, 100 minutes)
‘Momma’s Man’
Noon, 1:45, 3:30 and 5:15 p.m. Thursday
A British man who has avoided his wife and child at home has a change of heart after an imposed stay in his own parents’ loft. (2008, 94 minutes)
‘Bernie’
7 and 8:45 p.m. Thursday
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey star in Richard Linklater’s portrait of small-town Texas, where a local mortician kills a wealthy widow he befriends. (104 minutes)
BODY & SPIRIT DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES
Still & Moving Center, 1024 Queen St. (397-7678); $5:
‘Yoga as Therapy’
6:30 p.m. Sunday
Pioneers in alternative medicine describe the positive benefits that yoga has brought to their patients. (2005, 60 minutes)
MONDAY MOVIE CAFE
TheVenue, 1146 Bethel St. (436-4326), $10, $5 students:
‘In Good Time: The Piano Jazz of Marian McPartland’
7 p.m. Monday
Encore screening of documentary about the life and career of the jazz legend. (2011, 86 minutes)